Masters Degree in Education

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Hi, I have been toying with the idea of getting my masters in Nursing Education- can anyone tell me if this is a worthwhile degree? I would like the next step of my career to be a little less direct bedside care but I don't want to be completely away from patient care, so I'm thinking teaching students or running nurse residency programs might be a great way to keep my skills and knowledge current without the constant stress and crazy hours of hospital nursing. Any input or shared experiences would be appreciated!

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Specializes in Med/Surg, Ortho, ASC.

Are you a nurse?

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Specializes in Critical Care; Cardiac; Professional Development.

I have my MSN in education. Yes, it is a worthwhile degree. I work in Professional Development, supporting nurses in the bedside role as well as in various specialty roles. I love it.

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Specializes in EMS, ED, Trauma, CEN, CPEN, TCRN.

I also have my MSN and work as a hospital-based trauma educator, and I love what I do How many years have experience do you have, OP? Sometimes you can land the job while working on the degree, depending on the setting.

I am going to move this to the Nursing Educators forum. :)

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yes, it is worth it. Opens a ton of doors. Get involved in commitees, precepting and anything else that may get you some experience.

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I have 7 yrs experience, in several different jobs but I'm a bit new to med/surg- I still feel like I need more experience before I can be a good teacher but I would like to start working on the degree now.

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Specializes in ER, ICU.

Yes, it opens many doors and puts you ahead of your peers.

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I am thinking about taking this path with Capella. I am a newer nurse but this is a second career for me. By the time I finish my Masters I will be 37 and have been a nurse for 3 years. I work in patient now and have a clinic job as well. I am wondering if being such a new nurse will give me issues with this career choice?

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Specializes in EMS, ED, Trauma, CEN, CPEN, TCRN.
I am thinking about taking this path with Capella. I am a newer nurse but this is a second career for me. By the time I finish my Masters I will be 37 and have been a nurse for 3 years. I work in patient now and have a clinic job as well. I am wondering if being such a new nurse will give me issues with this career choice?

You don't automatically leave the bedside when your degree is conferred, don't worry! When you complete your degree (which really teaches you how to transfer knowledge, not the knowledge that you want to transfer), you will still have time to build that knowledge base until you are ready to transition to education, if you decide to do so.

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Specializes in Critical Care; Cardiac; Professional Development.
I am thinking about taking this path with Capella. I am a newer nurse but this is a second career for me. By the time I finish my Masters I will be 37 and have been a nurse for 3 years. I work in patient now and have a clinic job as well. I am wondering if being such a new nurse will give me issues with this career choice?

I am seven years in and just started as an educator. One of my biggest hurdles right now is with confidence in my level of knowledge. I definitely recommend having no less than five years in before attempting to become an educator based on my personal experience. I am pretty knowledgeable but I feel like not nearly enough sometimes!

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Specializes in CVICU, MICU, Burn ICU.
I am seven years in and just started as an educator. One of my biggest hurdles right now is with confidence in my level of knowledge. I definitely recommend having no less than five years in before attempting to become an educator based on my personal experience. I am pretty knowledgeable but I feel like not nearly enough sometimes!

To clarify: Do you mean you obtained your Masters in Nursing Ed 7 years ago? As in you waited 7 years to take on an educator role? Just curious as I am in no rush to leave the bedside. I haven't even started grad school yet, but have hopes that I can move into a sort of dual bedside/educator role before moving full time to educator.

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Specializes in Critical Care; Cardiac; Professional Development.
To clarify: Do you mean you obtained your Masters in Nursing Ed 7 years ago? As in you waited 7 years to take on an educator role? Just curious as I am in no rush to leave the bedside. I haven't even started grad school yet, but have hopes that I can move into a sort of dual bedside/educator role before moving full time to educator.

No, I just graduated with my MSN a little under a year ago. I have been a nurse for about 7 years. It is a liability in terms of my years of experience being relatively low compared to many of the nurses I work with, but humility and passion for what we do combined with strong relation to adult learners has helped a LOT. Having a good mentor in my department has been invaluable. I do miss the bedside at times, but I am out on the floor quite a bit.

I did work bedside full time both before and while pursuing my BSN and MSN.

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